"Nothing else in the whole wide world matters as much as avenging your sister."

― Jason Jack Miller, Hellbender

☽★☾

Brynn had never felt so openly accepted by a group as she did then. After Joan had repeated the nickname for those gathered around, everyone had smiled with approval and offered her murmurs of welcoming. Not one person was entirely the same as the others. Some had flaxen hair, others had locks of midnight black. Some were thin and slender while others took up much more space. Even skin color held much more variety than Brynn would have expected ― some seemed to blend right into the shadows because of their dark skin color ― and she immediately cursed every historian ever for whitewashing something like this. Gender also seemed to be something that not all of these people conformed to. While no one had probably even heard of terms like nonbinary and transgender in this time (it was only the seventeenth century, after all), the way that some of these people portrayed themselves definitely wasn't fitting of the gender binary they were stuck into.

"Does this group have a name?" Brynn asked after a while of chatting and greeting everyone. She directed the question to the group as a whole, but everyone looked to Joan for an answer.

The dark-haired young woman raised an eyebrow. "I've never called it by anything in particular," She shrugged. "But a motto of ours has always been 'Ad astra per aspera,' which basically means that times are tough but we believe in a brighter future."

Brynn nodded thoughtfully. "I like that," she replied with a small smile. "Maybe you can call the group 'Astra' or something like that. That is, if you want to call it by anything."

"Maybe I can," Joan said, a smirk on her lips as she stared at the redhead. "You've only been here a couple of hours and you already think you're in charge, huh?" Her tone was playful; she was joking with her, but Brynn still flushed a deep red, embarrassed for being called out.

"No, not at all! I―" But before she could defend herself, a pounding could suddenly be heard on the other side of the room. Brynn glanced over and realized that the sound was the rumble of footsteps as a young woman tumbled into the room from the entrance tunnel. She was shaky and out of breath, obviously exhausted by her hurried journey.

"Moon... Moonfall... There's some news that... I think you should know." The woman told her between breaths, bending at the waist as she heaved for breath.

Joan's expression immediately turned serious. She stepped away from Brynn, the air growing tense as she approached the messenger. "What is it?"

The woman's brown hair had fallen into her face, blocking her eyes from the others in the room. She sank into a sitting position on the ground, making it even easier to tell how fatigued her body was. Her face was red and slick with sweat. "It's Celeste. She was captured." She winced as if the words caused her pain.

"Celeste?" Joan repeated. It was impossible to decipher the emotion in her voice, but it was something that caused her throat to thicken and made her words deeper and smoother than their usual rough sound. When the young woman nodded in confirmation, Joan bobbed her head in response and sank down into a chair. She stared at her lap for a long moment.

Brynn glanced over at the others. Elise was staring worriedly at Joan from across the room, while Hawk, one of the young women who had been in the room with them initially, tucked a strand of her honey-brown hair behind her ear and kept her gaze fixed on the ground. No one spoke. Everyone appeared to be waiting for Joan to tell them what to do.

"Get everyone in here," Joan finally demanded. A young girl with shimmering black hair  ― whose nickname, Brynn remembered, was Oxalis ― nodded and rushed out of the room to complete her request. "We need to take action, and I need everyone in here to hear the plan."

The room sank once more into silence as Brynn and the rest waited for everyone else to join them. She felt the people in the room growing more and more impatient the longer they waited, but no one dared utter a word of complaint. It wasn't until several more dreadfully slow minutes of this had passed that Oxalis raced back through the tunnel, a dozen others at her heels. All wore expressions of deep concern and determination, making Brynn wonder what they usually did when news of a capture was received.

Joan stood when everyone trickled into the room. Her shoulders were back, her chin tilted slightly upwards. She gave off such a powerful aura that Brynn felt her hands go clammy at the thought of having to speak to her. Joan shared a glance with several of the group's members one by one, sharing silent words and worries as they waited for everyone around them to quit their chattering.

"Celeste has been captured by witch hunters," Joan began right away. The sharp words cut through the murmurs of the crowd and all remaining conversation ceased immediately. "We need to make plans to rescue her right away, before Sebastian and his cronies have the chance to lock her out of reach. If we work quickly, we have a chance."

"Silverstar and I can sneak into Sebastian's office." Someone in the middle of the group offered. A woman with blonde hair ― so light it looked practically white ― murmured an agreement.

Joan shook her head. "This isn't a job that can be given to two or three people. We're going to need to have enough of us there that we can take them on if something goes wrong. Magpie, you and Silverstar can most definitely help us. I know you're familiar with the layout of that courtyard. You two can take the lead on mapping it out."

"Yes, Moonfall," both women whispered.

"Good. If you can get a map sketched out for us, we can plan the exact route we want to take. I think you should take two or three others with you. Anyone who might be good at staying out of sight." As she uttered these words, her gaze moved to Brynn, who stood at the outskirts of the group. "Vixen. I think you should join them."

Brynn's eyes flicked up to meet Joan's. She felt the gazes of the other members of the group resting on her. "M-me? You want me go with them?"

Joan simply nodded. "You trailed me here stealthily enough. Now's your time to prove your devotion to our group. Unless, of course, you're not devoted to it."

"Of course I am," Brynn replied immediately, raising her head with as much determination as she could muster. "You said you'd put your trust in me, and I'm not going to put that to waste."

Joan held her gaze for a moment longer, considering her words. One side of her lips twitched upwards in a faint smirk. "Good. Then that's settled. As for―"

"Now hold on," A voice interrupted. Both of Joan's eyebrows shot up; she clearly hadn't expected anyone to talk over her. Brynn recognized the speaker as the platinum blonde woman known as Silverstar. She pursed her lips, eyeing Brynn with a suspicious gaze. "You're putting this newbie with us? We have no idea how she works. She's just a regular non-witch who's only just found out about us. Just because you can trust her doesn't mean any of us can." Silverstar's glare was so sharp that Brynn felt stubborn tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. The blonde seemed to realize she was hitting a nerve, because her lips spread into a smile. "I'm not working with this non-magical reject."

At first Brynn thought Joan was going to shrug it off and agree that Brynn didn't have nearly enough experience for this (something that she found herself half hoping for), but the dark-haired young woman stiffened and straightened up. Her eyes locked on Silverstar and she started off towards her at such a quick pace that Brynn wondered if she was going to strike her. Instead she stopped abruptly only an inch away from the blonde woman. Since she was an inch or two taller, she appeared to look down on her, and she did a wondrously terrifying job of it.

"Are you questioning my decisions?" Joan asked. Her voice was quiet, threatening. Silverstar didn't answer, her gaze fixed on the other woman's neck. Brynn assumed that she didn't want to look like she had to look up to Joan; she clearly wanted to keep at least some of her dignity. "Well? Answer me!"

"I'm not questioning any of your decisions," Silverstar answered carefully. Brynn watched as she chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek. "I'm only wondering if this Vixen is suited properly to work with Magpie and I." She spat Brynn's new nickname like it was poison on her tongue.

Joan let out a single humorless laugh. "That's for me to decide, isn't it?" Her voice was smooth as honey, far different from the casual rasp she usually spoke in. "Vixen is one of your sisters now, Silverstar. Treat her like that, or, so help me, you will be in such a painful position that you'll be screaming for help." She let the words settle in around the blonde until she grew outwardly uncomfortable. Only then did Joan smirk and take a step back.

"What Silverstar says is somewhat true," the dark-haired young woman admitted, her gaze relaxing slightly as she glanced around at everyone gathered in the room. Brynn noticed that they all seemed much more observant now that Joan had been seen making a threat. "Vixen doesn't have much experience with us. But that doesn't mean she can't learn." Her dark eyes moved to rest on Brynn alone. "If it's alright with you, Vixen, you're going to be taught some basic magic. Just enough to defend yourself and those you work with, if something were to go wrong."

Brynn nodded. She watched Silverstar through the corner of her eye, taking a moment to savor the expression of helplessness that the blonde woman wore. Her lips tugged upwards into a smile. She liked that, for now, Joan was on her side. She would hate to lose that; she was clearly a powerful ally to have. "When do I begin?"